Nelson Calls Florida Absentee Ballot Directive Voter Suppression

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) said Tuesday that a new directive in Florida that limits where voters can drop off their absentee ballots is a form of voter suppression.

"This is so obvious that it's making it harder to vote for the average folks, whether Republican or Democrat," Nelson told the Associated Press.

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner issued a directive in November that clarified that absentee ballots could only be dropped off at or sent to the election supervisor's office. This keeps counties from setting up ballot drop-offs at convenient locations and has resulted in criticism from local elections officials.

"The potential effect on voters is that it reduces opportunities for them to return their ballots," Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark told the Tampa Bay Times. "This is not promoting ballot accessibility. I'm very worried about this. I'm just stunned."